MOUNT VERNON — Steady downpours and drenched tracks didn’t stop the 10 area schools from setting records at Friday night’s 29th annual Mount Vernon News SpecTRACKular. Highland’s Kristen Anderson and Mount Vernon’s Danae Rockwell both set SpecTRACKular record,s but it was Mount Vernon’s Jhazmyn Anderson who took home the Most Outstanding Competitor award with her consistent performances on the track and 30-point total.

“I was really excited because I knew I had a chance,” said Jhazmyn Anderson. “I have really improved this year and the girls on my relay team have really help me out. This is something that I have always wanted, and I got it this year.”

Jhazmyn Anderson began the day with a victory in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:02.8, netting her 10 points towards the overall Most Outstanding Competitor. She continued the winning streak with a victory in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.8 seconds.

In the meantime, she was facing some serious competition from Kristen Anderson and Rockwell. Rockwell dominated in the 100-meter hurdles, breaking a SpecTRACKular record held since 2004. She ran the event in 15.0 seconds, breaking the old record of 15.4 seconds.

“I felt real good today,” said Rockwell. “I think I run better in the rain; I just like it. My goal today first was to get over the hurdles without breaking something. If I don’t hit the first one, I am usually good for the rest of the race. I wanted to win because a lot of my friends and family were here. I just wanted run as fast as I could and get my own personal record, not really the meet record, but I did.”

Rockwell continued her domination in the hurdles with a victory in the 300-meter hurdles, moving her right to the top of the Most Outstanding Competitor battle. She received 10 points for the 100-meter hurdle victory, plus five bonus points for setting a new record. The 300-meter hurdle victory gave her a total of 25 points for the meet while only competing in 2 events.

“Before my 100s, I was freaking out,” Rockwell said. “My friends were there and telling me ‘Danae you got this,’ but you never know. When I got in the blocks, my hands were shaking. I was very nervous. After I crossed the finish line, it felt great. I just smiled; I couldn’t breathe, but I smiled.”

Kristen Anderson staged her own run at the Most Outstanding Competitor with a strong showing as well. She finished the night with a total of 27 points. Anderson showed her overall abilities by being the only girl in the top 3 to compete in both the track and the field events. She participated in the high jump and finished second, giving her eight points going into the track events.

Next up for Kristen Anderson was the 100-meter dash, and it was a record-setter. She ran it in a time of 12.1 seconds, breaking the old record of 12.2 set in 2005.

“It started raining right before we ran it,” said Kristen Anderson. “I am not sure if it made me faster or if I just wanted to get done and get out of the rain! I was mad about the rain, so I don’t know; maybe it made me run a little faster. I wasn’t too nervous today. I haven’t run the 100 a lot this year. I was more like just, ‘I’ll go run it fast and whatever happens, happens.’”

Whatever it was, it worked. Setting the record in the rain just added to the success.

“After I got done everyone was saying, ‘Good job.’ I didn’t think I ran it that well. I didn’t expect it at all. Coach came up and said ‘Kristen!’ and I was just eating skittles when he said ‘You broke the record.’ He told me I ran a 12.09 and I said a ‘12.9, I have run that before!’, and coach said, ‘No a 12.09!’”

Kristen Anderson finished out the evening in the 4x200 relay and a second-place medal. Anderson, only a sophomore, will definitely be back in the future.

“I have to say, this is probably one of my favorite meets,” said Kristen Anderson.

Jhazmyn Anderson had to rely on some friends to help her take home the victory. Victories in both the 4x200-meter and the 4x400-meter races helped her finish strong and take home the overall Most Outstanding Competitor on the very last race of the night.

“I was so upset when it started raining,” Jhazmyn Anderson said. “It seems like it happens to us every time. It was kind of a bummer. I was really hoping to break the 400-meter record, but it’s OK; I still won.

“This is my favorite track meet we have all year. I always look forward to it because there are so many people out to watch and to cheer for us. It’s just a really fun time.”

MOUNT VERNON — Rain and cold slowed many of the athletes in Friday night’s Mount Vernon News SpecTRACKular, but Mount Vernon High School’s Caleb Tier was still able to come away with a meet record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.8 seconds.

“I just came out and wanted to run real fast and do everything I could and do everything coach has taught me,” said Tier. “This award was in the back of my mind the whole time, I just wanted to see if I would be able to do it.”

Tier not only won the 100-meter dash, but also the night’s Most Outstanding Competitor award. He won the 200-meter dash in a time of 23.2 seconds, as well as anchored both the winning 4x100-meter relay and the 4x200-meter relay teams.

“We decided to work on Tier’s starts and top end speed, and he put together a pretty good week of practice to prepare for this,” said Mount Vernon boys coach Jim Lindsey. “He knew the competition was going to be tough, and he knew what he was going to have to do. He really wanted to get a chance to get to run against Brandon King from East Knox, but he was still pumped up for this race.”

Despite the heavy downpours, Tier was still able to run nearly as fast as he ever has in all of his events. His 100-meter time was only one-tenth of a second off the school record, and Tier’s speed was only possible due to a little planning ahead for the weather.

“I just wanted to come out of my blocks strong and get my legs going,” said Tier. “You have to keep your head down a little longer in the rain. Then about 25 meters in, you can start to come up.”

The track events started with the boys 4x800-meter relay. The top positions were not clear through the first three legs of the relay, but the Johnstown Johnnies took the lead and held on to win the race in a time of 8:34.9.

The Jackets not only got a win in the short races from Tier, but also two seconds and a third. Tyler Duncan placed second in the 100-meter dash in a time of 11.1 seconds, as well as second in the 200-meter dash in a time of 23.3 seconds. Thoren Lindsey was third in the 200-meter dash in a time of 24.4 seconds.

“This was pretty surprising,” said coach Lindsey. “In years past, you would see the list of names and Mount Vernon would have two or three in there. But to finish as strong as we did was a really good. The guys were all sore and tight coming into this week, so we had to really concentrate on their form.”

Highland grabbed a first-place finish in the 800-meter run as Luke Ebersole held to defeat Mount Vernon’s Ty Gregg in a time of 2:08.1. Ebersole also won the 3,200-meter run in a time of 10:37.3 for Highland. He outkicked Utica’s Matt Snelling (10:47.4) and Mount Vernon’s Jordan Vance (10:47.9).

“This weather will help them in the future in case we get into bad weather at conference and later, they will be more acclimated to it,” said Highland boys coach Gies. “It was nice to have Mount Vernon to push us tonight; they have great sprinters and distance runners. I have a great group of senior guys who have worked hard to get us to this point, so hopefully that will carry us toward the end of the year.”

Dylan Souhrada won the 110-meter hurdles for the Yellow Jackets in a time of 15.4 seconds, as well as the 300-meter hurdles in a time of 42.4 seconds.

Fredericktown grabbed a first-place finish in 1,600-meter run as Isaac Potes held on to survive a final-lap surge from Mount Vernon’s Ty Gregg. Potes won the race in a time of 4:36.2, while Gregg was second in 4:36.6.

Doug Biddle gave the Jackets a win in the 400-meter dash as he came from behind to defeat Highland’s Josh Bowmar. Despite being down by several meters as the race entered the final curve, Biddle finished in time of 51.8 seconds to defeat Bowmar by a complete second. The Scot runner finished in 52.8 seconds.

The Mount Vernon sprint relay teams dominated the meet with three wins. The school’s 4x100-meter team won in a time of 3:34.7, the 4x200-meter team won with at time of 1:32.8 and the 4x400-meter team won in a time of 3:34.7. The Highland sprint crew wasn’t too far off the Jackets’ times. The Scots placed second in the 4x200-meter relay in a time of 1:33.5, and second in the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 3:35.9.

“Even though this wasn’t competition geared for districts and regionals, it gives them motivation because they know all the athletes in the county,” said Lindsey. “If they aren’t friends, they still know them very well. The competition level is peaked, so you see records being broken. SpecTRACKular is something really good for the county, because everyone can see these kids together when they usually wouldn’t get to see them.”

MOUNT VERNON — Friday’s wet weather managed to hold off long enough to allow most of the field competition in the 2008 SpecTRACKular to complete. This year’s annual showcase included a much anticipated showdown between Mount Vernon’s Lucas Ferguson and Highland’s Wayne Lanum in both the shot put and the discus.

Ferguson, who placed first in both events, admitted that Lanum’s presence in the competition helped to kick up his game a notch or two.

“Yes, whenever you have somebody close to you in both shot and disc, of course you are going to throw it farther,” said Ferguson. “Every time I throw against him, he and I want to do our very best, so it does help.”

Ferguson wound up setting a new meet record, hurling the discus 171 feet, 2 inches, which was more than enough to hold off Lanum, who set a personal best of 151-foot-4.

“It totally makes me step up my game,” said Lanum. “When I am in first spot, I pretty much just kick it into cruise control, but when you’ve got a guy out-throwing you by about 30 feet, it makes you want to come out and compete at the highest level you can.”

After all, it was the constant striving for excellence that got Ferguson and Lanum to SpecTRACKular in the first place.

“It’s fun,” said Ferguson. “You get to see all of the people that you read about in the paper. It’s always fun to go against the best.”

“Being at SpecTRACKular is a huge honor,” said Lanum, who was runner-up in both the discus and the shot. “You have to be one of the best to compete here and I knew coming in to it that Ferguson is a tough competitor. I’ve been working hard this week, trying to get my footwork down. I came out and PR’d in the disc and I am pretty happy about that. I think that I am going to peak at just the right time this year — right around regionals and districts.”

Ciara Whitmer of Northridge, who won the girls discus with a 110-foot throw, was just elated to be a part of the All-star event.

“This is great,” said Whitmer. “I love track, I love throwing. I love hanging out with all the girls. Everyone is so nice.”

Whitmer’s dedication seems to be something that runs in the family.

“I practice at school,” said Whitmer, “and then, when I get home from school, I practice with my dad. He has taught me so much — like everything I know.”

Whitmer placed seventh in the shot put to Johnstown’s Mychelle Furlan, who had a heave of 38-feet-1.

Greg Shaum of Clear Fork took the boys high jump with a 6-feet-2 leap in his very first SpecTRACKular.

“It feels good. I really wanted to get the high school record today,” said Shaum. “But I just missed it. I clipped it on my toe.”

Shaum was just delighted to best his personal record.

“My personal best was six feet and now, it’s 6-2 so, I did a lot better today,” said Shaum. “It feels great because I’m only a sophomore and I didn’t run last year.”

The pole vault was no surprise as the Fredericktown duo of Brittany Auker (who won the tiebreaker and took first) and Kaitlyn Newkirk, both cleared nine feet.

Shelby Biddle of Mount Vernon, who wound up tied for sixth, said, “It was nice being one of the top eight.” But for Biddle, just getting to SpecTRACKular was the most important thing.

“It means a lot,” said Biddle. “It means that my hard work paid off and I could show my pole vault capability. It definitely pushes you to strive to do better,” said Biddle. “When you have the best around you, then you want to be better than the best.”

Gary Gregg of Fredericktown took the boys pole vault with a jump of 10-feet-6.

The boys long jump went to Harley Filyaw, who hurled his body 20-feet-7 3/4. Dina VanDervort won the girls long jump, leaping 16-feet-4.